Hotels near Matera
75100 Matera, MT, Italy
Matera sits just inside the Basilicata border but is so consistently paired with Puglia that no travel guide would omit it. Its two Sassi cave districts - Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso - form one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the world, with human occupation dating back at least 9,000 years. UNESCO inscribed the Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches on the World Heritage List in 1993, and Matera served as European Capital of Culture in 2019.
Roughly 150 chiese rupestri (rock-hewn churches) survive in and around the Sassi, many with Byzantine frescoes from the 8th to 13th centuries. Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario in Sasso Caveoso, a restored cave dwelling preserved as it was when families lived there until the 1952 government-mandated relocation, is open daily 09:30-20:30 with a 5 EUR entry in 2026. The Palombaro Lungo, a colossal underground cistern beneath Piazza Vittorio Veneto that was carved in 1846 and holds 5 million litres of water, offers guided tours every 30 minutes for 6 EUR.
Pro Tip: Book an overnight in a converted cave hotel (albergo diffuso) inside the Sassi. Matera empties of day-trippers after 19:00 and the evening light on the tufa walls, followed by dinner in a candlelit grotto restaurant, is one of the great sensory experiences of southern Italy.
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